Two years ago after the culmination of Film Southasia 2019, the Southasia Trust brought together filmmakers, researchers, activists, graphic novelists, cartoonists and artists to evolve new thinking around the visual representation of gender-based violence in cinema, the media and popular culture. Following the four-day workshop 6 young filmmakers embarked on a journey to make six documentary films challenging the visual representation of women and sexual violence in Southasian media.
These six films were screened for the first time at Film Southasia 2022 to great success. Read more about the Film Southasia’s six filmmaking fellows and their work below!

Before You Were My Mother
73 min | 2022 | Nepal | Nepali, Manipuri, Newari
DIRECTOR: PRASUNA DONGOL
Prasuna tries to come to terms with the differences she has with her mother and seeks a way to define her own life.
The City that Spoke to Me
88 min | 2022 | India | Indian Sign Langauge, Hindi
DIRECTOR: NIHARIKA POPLI
Six young people talk about finding expression and meaning as they navigate their space in a city.


Decoding Gender
50 min | 2022 | Bangladesh | Bangla
DIRECTOR: RAWYAN SHAYEMA
A reflective journey to understand and decode gender binaries
Flames of a Continous Field of Time
54 min | 2021 | Nepal | Nepali
DIRECTOR: BARKHA MUKHIYA
This film from its multitude of voices attempts to examine the society around the bold yet invisible existence of Dalit women in Nepal


Face Cover
70 min | 2022 | Sri Lanka | Tamil
DIRECTOR: A.M. ASHFAQUE
Ashifa in Kattankdy, navigates the complex social forces shaping her and other women’s stories in this docu-fiction film.
Sita ke Badalte Roop (The Changing Forms of Sita)
60 min | 2022 | India | Hindi
DIRECTOR: PUSHPA RAWAT
Pushpa Rawat plays Sita in the local Ramlila, opening up public spaces for women in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
